Robert “Roddy”Rodriguez Brown is the oldest son of and survived by his parents Robert A. Brown and Ruth A. Rodriguez Brown. He is also survived by: his brothers Simon R. Brown and Ben Wagers; his sisters Clair Langford, and Jenny Robertson; his grandmama Barbara Brown; his aunts and uncles Cruz Ramos, Richard Ramos, Rosemary Torres, Daisy Quigley, Sharon Jones, Julian Brown, and Richard Brown. He had many cousins and nephews and nieces.
Rod was born 11 August 1994 in Newport News, Virginia. He was a joy to his parents. His father told his mother, “If we have another baby one-tenth as good as Rod, we will be lucky.” We are thankful God sent him to us.
At his mother’s request, Rod Took piano lessons and practiced daily. He never gave up though it didn’t come easily to him. Being a showman, Rod loved performing at recitals. He used this hard-won talent to glorify God as he became an adult. We are thankful to the many piano teachers he had.
An avid Cub and Boy Scout, Rod earned the Arrow of Light and Eagle awards. Being an Eagle Scout remained one of his core identifying points, because it was an elite award that relatively few attain. We are grateful for all who helped him on his Eagle journey.
Rod was extremely intelligent, but it was not reflected in his school performance, unfortunately. He was an avid reader who could read a page a minute and retain what he read. He learned to read upside down, too. Reading was his preferred method of learning. At 16, Rod completed the GED course in four months and met the Hawaii requirements for his high school diploma. Other boys at church asked Simon, “So, is your brother dumb or smart?” Simon looked at them and simply said, “He’s out of school and you’re not. What do you think?”
Rod was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized on his eighth birthday and progressed to the office of elder at eighteen. He served as a Primary pianist and in priesthood quorum presidencies before his mission.
From the ages sixteen through nineteen, Rod worked and saved $10,000 to support himself on a Church mission. He was called to and served honorably in the Nicaragua Managua North Mission. In his mission journal he wrote: “Ten thousand dollars. That’s the summarization of my savings and earnings in the year of 2014. When I came home, not a penny was left. And I wouldn’t take anything I could ever get to get that money back.” He came home with the suit on his back, his books, a few ties other elders gave him and presents for his family.; he left his other suit and clothes for others. He voluntarily paid fees for couples to marry so that they could progress to baptism. He was happy to supply soda and cake to the ward in which he served for his birthday party. A member said, “Elder Brown, no missionary has ever done anything like this before!” One of his greatest joys was serving as a counselor to Elder Barker in the San Benito Branch. It pleased him to no end that it became a ward before his mission ended. Another core identification was that he was an honorably returned missionary.
As a missionary, Rod struggled to learn Spanish. None of his missionary companions knew any English and for some Spanish was their second language. Because of that Rod knew that it was his responsibility to learn the language. He immersed himself in reading the scriptures in Spanish. He had an almost photographic memory and would mentally comb through the scriptures for specific words and had endless passages memorized. His bishop told us that it was amazing to him the variety and specific words Rod knew in Spanish. We are grateful for all who helped him learn and keep Spanish. When he came home, he struggled for English words. Then someone from Nicaragua called and he spoke with perfect ease. At that moment his mother knew Spanish was Rod’s first language. He attended a Spanish-speaking ward to keep his language, but he also found great love there. He played the piano, helped with the young men, was the facilities cleaning coordinator, and ministered to families and older sisters without
assignment. He also served as a an ordinance worker in the Salt Lake Temple and was preparing to serve in another temple. We are grateful to those who loved him and served with Rod.
Rod worked a variety of jobs, but had not found anything that made the best use of his talents and abilities. His was a dependable and punctual worker. We are grateful that he took the responsibility of adulthood seriously.
He loved being the older brother and always tried to set a good example, hit his milestones on time, and be in a position to help. He loved his parents. His smile, his laughter, his jokes, his intelligence, his generosity, and his love will be missed. We are grateful to all who touched his life for good and loved him. He is our son and brother forever we that we are ever grateful.
